Apple Music to Exclusively Premiere Pharrell’s New Song, ‘Freedom’

Make that two items of good news for Apple Music today: the streaming service announced earlier today that the new Pharrell single "Freedom" will see an exclusive premiere on the service on June 30 – the same day it launches.

The exclusive could end up serving as a big catalyst for Apple Music signups. Imagine, for example, having to sign up for Apple Music to get your hands on last year's Pharrell hit, "Happy," which went on to sell 13.9 million copies in 2014.

Whether exclusives are a good strategy for the streaming industry in the long run is another question. As we pointed out earlier, completing exclusives between streaming services could drive consumers away from streaming altogether.

"Freedom" is expected to premiere on the Apple's Beats 1 online radio station, part of Apple Music's launch, and will likely be available to stream for Apple Music subscribers afterward. You can hear a snippet of the song now in Apple Music's first commercial (below), which shows listeners across the world tuning in to Beats 1.

News also broke today that Apple had succeeded in signing over 20,000 indie labels to Apple Music.

Apple Music – "Worldwide"